Collapsible car crib



Aug. 7, 1956 P. c. KELLY 2,757,387

COLLAPSIBLE CAR CRIB Filed April 5, 195a INVENTOR FhuLCKelly.

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 2,757,387 Patented Aug. 7, 1956COLLAPSIBLE CAR CRIB Paul C. Kelly, Ardmore, Pa.

Application April 3, 1953, Serial No. 346,692

3 Claims. (Cl. -94) This invention relates to a collapsible anderectable childs crib to be used in connection with automobile seats.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a three-sided cribcomprising a medially hinged front sectionhaving side sections hinged tothe opposite ends thereof to effect easy and convenient manipulation ofthe crib respectively for erection and storage. It Will be' seen thatunder these circumstances the backrest of the car seat to which the cribis attached is utilized as the back wall and fourth side of theenclosure.

More particularly, a special object of the invention resides in theprovision of novel means for attaching the crib to the seat. One of theessential characteristics of such means is that the rear verticalportions of the side sections rest tightly against the backrest of thecar seat when the bottom rails of the side and front sections are firmlysecured to the seat, thus preventing the forward tilting or movement ofthe crib, either when the car is decelerating in motion, or if the childfrom a standing or any other position brings pressure upon any part ofthe crib. While it has been proposed to hold down the rear portion of acar crib by hooks or the like, nevertheless such holding means isimpractical for such reasons as difficulty in storing, undue wear on theupholstery, the injury hazard to a handler, and troublesomemanipulations. Also, in a device of this type, it is even more desirableto avoid the use of rigid locking elements or projections from thestandpoint of possible injury to the child. Accordingly, .the presentinvention proposes to utilize a flexible holding means which is soarranged and constructed as to enable considerable pressure to beimposed in a downward direction on the rear ends of the side sections incombination with pressure exertedon the bottom rails of the frontsection which holds the bottom rails'of all sections securely to theseat and thereby avoid accidental forward movement or tilting of thecrib.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in the arrangement andcombination of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective View of the crib attached to a car seat.

Figure 2 is a detail view of one rear corner of a side section showing atype of loop or guide at the rear of said side sections, and therelation of the guide to a related buckle-type fastening.

Figure 3 is a detail view of the crib collapsed.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of an alternate form of loop orguide.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawings.

Referring to Figure 1, it will be observed that the car seat cushion isdesignated generally as A and, as usual, cooperates with a back orbackrest B.

The crib, designated generally as C, comprises a front section D hingedas at E for collapsibility, and having at the opposite ends thereof theside sections P which are hingedly connected to the front section, asindicated at G. The front section D is provided at the location of thehinges E with a locking latch E to hold the hinges rigid when the cribis erected. The crib C is preferably of the horizontal rail and verticalspoke or rod type, including upper and lower rails to which the spokesor posts are attached. The lower rails H and H, respectively, of

the front and side sections are intended to cooperate with the presentnovel anchoring or locking means for securing the crib firmly to theseat.

The securing means includes front buckles 11 connected by front terminalanchors, in the form of flexible loops 2, to the bottom rail H of thefront section. Also, said means includes the rear terminal anchors inthe form of fastening buckles 3 connected by loops 4 to the sidesections each at a point inwardly of the rear portions or posts 55 ofthe side sections, as for example to one of the rods of the section. Thepurpose of connecting the loops 4 inwardly of the rear portions 5 of theside sections is to provide suflicient room for hand manipulation of therear free ends 6 of the seat-embracing straps S and. S in relation tothe rear fastening buckles 3.

It will also be noted that the bottom rails H of the side sections F areprovided with the guide elements 7 which are located adjacent to therear portions 5 and between the loops 4 and said rear portion 5. Thehold-down guide means is preferably in the form of a loop. In theexample shown, this loop is made of a piece of fabric with its endportions secured to the related bottom rail H by end fastenings 8. Ofcourse, this loop could be made of metal or other suitable material asshown by the detail view in Figure 4- and designated as 7a.

The straps S and S have their intermediate portions placed beneath theseat A While their free rear ends 6 and free front ends 10 are adaptedfor cooperation with the buckle units 3 and 1, respectively. In the caseof the rear free ends 6 of the straps, it will be seen that the same arethreaded from the inside of and over the bottom rail H and through guideor loop means 7 and thence led to the buckles 3 for permanent anchorage.Therefore, the rear portions 5 of the side sections F may haveconsiderable pressure exerted upon them to hold the rear 7 ends of therails H firmly against the seat, said pressure being accomplished bypulling forward and downward on the free front ends 10 of the straps Sand S through the buckles 1-4, and, furthermore, if any slack develops 3in the portions 6 of the straps which pass through loop or guide means7, additional tightening or take-up may be accomplished through thebuckles 3. In any event, the arrangement described provides forconcentrating hold-down pressure at the rear portion of the bottom railsH of the side sections and firmly secures the bearing surfaces of allbottom rails to the car seat.

When the straps S and S are once positioned beneath the seat A, they maybe left in that position after the buckles 11 and 33 have beenmanipulated to release the free ends of the straps from the crib toenable its removal from the seat. This has the advantage that when it isagain desired to erect the crib C on the seat A, it is simply necessaryto move the crib sections into the erected position shown in Figure 1and then reconnect the free ends 6 and 10 of the straps, respectively,with the buckles 3 and 1. Thus, the seat-embracing strap portions of thesecuring means may be conveniently left in place when the crib is not inuse, and there will be no metallic parts to damage or interfere with thenormal use of the seat. Moreover, the arrangement described avoids anymetallic connecting parts which might prove injurious to the child or anoccupant of the seat. It will also be understood that after the ends 6and of the straps have been disconnected from their related buckles, thecrib C may then be removed from the seat and collapsed to be placed in asuitable carry carton provided for the purpose of keeping the cribsanitary while stored in the luggage compartment or out of the car.

The crib is of such length that, being placed oif center on the seat,suitable seating space for another occupant normally will be providedadjacent to the side section F.

The manner in which the side members F and the front member D arehingedly connected greatly facilitates placing a child into the crib orremoving it therefrom, and permits part of the crib to be moved awayfrom the seat cushion while the remaining part remains attached thereto.This may be accomplished by unbuckling either strap S or S from buckles1 and 3 and swinging the free side member F inwardly away from thebackrest and toward the adjoining half section D of the front memberthereby providing free access to the seat cushion without having to liftthe child over the crib. In addition to unbuckling straps S or S frombuckles 1 and 3, top and bottom latches E may be released and that halfof the crib comprising sections F and D may be swung forward toward theback of the front backrest, thus providing even greater convenience andaccessibility in placing or taking the child easily from the cushion.This arrangement also permits changing the baby without removing it fromthe cushion.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the distinguishing feature ofthe present invention resides in the provision of means for holding thecrib tightly to the seat and firmly against the backrest in a simple andpractical way, as the crib is firmly anchored in place against lateralor forward shifting or tilting in any way. In applying the straps S andS beneath the seat A, it is only necessary to lift the seat from itsnormal position sufficiently to place the straps in position, and by soleaving such straps under the seat, thereafter, the crib may be erectedand attached many times with speed and convenience, since the free ends6 and 10 of the straps provide no hazards to occupants of the seat whenthe crib is not in use.

I claim:

1. A childs crib for use on automobile or like seats, comprising, incombination, a three-sided enclosure including pivotally connectedcollapsible front and side sections having bottom rails, and means forsecuring the crib to the seat with the vertical rear portions of theside sections abutting the backrest, said means including front bucklessecured by adjustable loops to the bottom rail of the front section,rear buckles secured by adjustable loops anchored forwardly of the rearends of the bottom rails of the side sections, guides on the rearportions of the bottom rails of the side sections, and flexible strapsembracing the bottom and front and rear ends of the seat with their freeends exposed for access at the front and rear of the seat, the rear freeends of the straps passing from the inside and over the rear portion ofthe bottom rails of the side sections, through said guides and thenceconnecting with said rear buckles and anchoring the rear ends of theside sections firmly to the rear portion of the seat, and the free frontends of said straps secured to the front buckles on the loops carried bythe bottom rail of the front section to hold the remaining parts of allthe bottom rails of the crib securely to the seat.

2. In a crib for automobile seats or the like, including, front and sidesections, means for attaching the crib to the seat, comprising, rearterminal anchors adjacent the lower rear end of each side section of thecrib and including a loop guide and a buckle secured forwardly of theguide, front terminal anchor buckles on the front section, straps havingtheir free rear ends secured to the rear terminal anchors by passingfrom inside and over bottom rails of side sections through said loopguides and connected to the related buckles thereof, said strapsembracing the seat from underneath and over the rear and front endsthereof and being pulled forwardly thereabout to firmly depress the rearends of the bottom rails of the side sections against the backrest andthe rear surface of the seat and to firmly press the rear verticalportions of the side sections against the back rest to prevent forwardtilting of the crib, and the front ends of the straps connecting withthe front terminal anchor buckles.

3. A childs crib for use on automobile or like seats comprising, incombination, a three-sided enclosure including a front section havingmedially hinged top and bottom rails, side sections including top andbottom rails and vertical rear posts, the front ends of said top andbottom rails of the side sections hinged to related rails of the frontsection, means for securing the crib to the seat with the vertical rearposts of the side sections abutting the backrest and the bottom rails ofall sections resting on the top of the seat, said means including strapspassing beneath the seat and having their rear ends passing over thebottom rails of the side sections from the inner sides thereof andconnected thereto to firmly hold the rear portions of the side sectionsagainst the rear of the seat and the backrest, when the front ends ofthe said straps are pulled forwardly and connected to the bottom railsof the front section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS KellyJune 3, 1952

